No, really...why DO we blog? Some of us are very good bloggers...frequent posts, great pictures, inspiring posts. Some of us are middle-of-the-road bloggers...frequent posts, okay pictures, mostly uninspiring posts. And some of us are what I call reluctant bloggers...infrequent posts, mostly dreadful pictures, and random posts that may (or may not) grab the attention of anyone passing by.
I am in the third category. I started blogging so I could wade into the pool of amazing jewelry designers whose blogs I follow. I wanted to join in! I am certainly not an amazing jewelry designer; I have so, so much to learn...but I wanted to participate in the online challenges such as Jeannie Dukic's Do-Over Challenge and Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party. I wanted to play with the big girls! The ladies whose work inspires me every time I see it.
I don't follow only jewelry blogs. I follow blogs written by women who crochet amazing things. Blogs written by women who are funny as hell, and write about their lives (Crazy Aunt Purl, this means YOU!). Blogs written by women who live beautifully...or at least whose photographs indicate that they live beautifully. Don't ask me to pick a category as my favorite; I just couldn't do it. I love variety.
And in my own life, there is so much more going on than a few jewelry blog parties each year. I like variety in my life, too. And I've noticed that my days seem to slip away, one after another, without any real feeling of accomplishment on my part. I no longer have a job, which is good...and bad. Being retired isn't all it's cracked up to be! I never, ever thought I'd be drifting through this quarter of my life...after all, I do so much! I make jewelry; I sell jewelry. I crochet. I love my needlework and I love it most when it's very intricate. I sew. I cook. Actually, I used to cook. Now I mostly reheat. That's another thing I never thought would happen: the microwave is my favorite kitchen tool.
So I think I might start documenting the things I do accomplish each day; maybe that will make me feel less like a drifter. Just for me. Not for show (although anyone is invited to peek). Really...just for my own benefit.
Yesterday, which was Saturday April 27th, I displayed some truly dreadful pictures of my jewelry makes from the bead soup sent by my Minnesota friend, Brenda Sigafoos. But I did other stuff, too. I finished my monthly private swaps for my Swap-bot friend, Sheryl. I made a dotee doll:
I am in the third category. I started blogging so I could wade into the pool of amazing jewelry designers whose blogs I follow. I wanted to join in! I am certainly not an amazing jewelry designer; I have so, so much to learn...but I wanted to participate in the online challenges such as Jeannie Dukic's Do-Over Challenge and Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party. I wanted to play with the big girls! The ladies whose work inspires me every time I see it.
I don't follow only jewelry blogs. I follow blogs written by women who crochet amazing things. Blogs written by women who are funny as hell, and write about their lives (Crazy Aunt Purl, this means YOU!). Blogs written by women who live beautifully...or at least whose photographs indicate that they live beautifully. Don't ask me to pick a category as my favorite; I just couldn't do it. I love variety.
And in my own life, there is so much more going on than a few jewelry blog parties each year. I like variety in my life, too. And I've noticed that my days seem to slip away, one after another, without any real feeling of accomplishment on my part. I no longer have a job, which is good...and bad. Being retired isn't all it's cracked up to be! I never, ever thought I'd be drifting through this quarter of my life...after all, I do so much! I make jewelry; I sell jewelry. I crochet. I love my needlework and I love it most when it's very intricate. I sew. I cook. Actually, I used to cook. Now I mostly reheat. That's another thing I never thought would happen: the microwave is my favorite kitchen tool.
So I think I might start documenting the things I do accomplish each day; maybe that will make me feel less like a drifter. Just for me. Not for show (although anyone is invited to peek). Really...just for my own benefit.
Yesterday, which was Saturday April 27th, I displayed some truly dreadful pictures of my jewelry makes from the bead soup sent by my Minnesota friend, Brenda Sigafoos. But I did other stuff, too. I finished my monthly private swaps for my Swap-bot friend, Sheryl. I made a dotee doll:
Dotees are handmade dollies (funky little dollies about five inches long) with no arms and no legs; they must have a hanger of some sort and a tail. This month's theme was "Diamonds". This is Diamond Lil. She is wearing diamond-patterned clothing, her tail (not visible here) is an organza ribbon with a "diamond" dangle, her jewelry is made from Swarovski "diamonds".
I am making...I've been making, for such a long time...a color-blocked yo yo coverlet for my king-size bed. Oh, the hours I've spent making yo yos! I believe my coverlet is about 2/3 complete...but I could be wrong. It is so big now, and so heavy, that I'm making the squares individually and will attach them to the body of the coverlet later. Yesterday I stitched together two squares (each square contains 16 yo yos in a particular color range). I made a square of pink...
And a square of blue...
There are 10 colors in the coverlet. I may never finish. Strike that: I WILL finish! It will take time, lots of time. I alternate my projects; I'm not capable of going start-to-finish on any one project, unless it is an artist trading card or something equally small. I have a rotation list, and it gives me pleasure to work on one project for two weeks, knowing that I'll be on to another project soon.
Just for me, this has been a visual representation of what I did on Saturday, April 27th.
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